Herman Ossian Armour (March 7, 1837 – September 8, 1901) was an American businessman and philanthropist who with his brother, Philip Danforth Armour, co-founded the meatpacking firm of

Armour & Company Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1863, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's mo ...

, which would exist as the nation's largest such company for much of the twentieth century. Born the seventh of eight children in

Stockbridge, New York Stockbridge is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 1,972 at the 2020 census, down from 2,103 in 2010. The name is derived from a group of Native Americans. History The land surrounding where Stockbridge ...

, his parents were Methodists of English and Scottish ancestry. In 1865, Armour established the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

syndicate of Armour Meats under the name ''Armour, Plankinton & Co.'' This move was prompted by a series of restrictive laws regarding lines of credit in effect throughout most Midwestern states at the time. American forebear of the Armour family,

Scotsman Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (o ...

James Armour was among the earliest to settle in the newly established British colony of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, arriving just three years after its establishment in 1664, though settlers from Holland, Germany, Sweden, and France had been living in the area since 1614 in the former

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

and

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

(''Nya Sverige'') colonies. Armour died on September 8, 1901 at his

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

home and was laid to rest at the family mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery. Armour was a delegate to the

1892 Republican National Convention The 1892 Republican National Convention was held at the Industrial Exposition Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota, from June 7 to June 10, 1892. The party nominated President Benjamin Harrison for re-election on the first ballot and Whitelaw Reid ...

and a

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

in the 1896 presidential election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armour, Herman Ossian 1837 births 1901 deaths Philanthropists from New York (state) Businesspeople in the meat packing industry People from Stockbridge, New York 19th-century American philanthropists Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 1896 United States presidential electors New York Central College alumni Armour family

See also

References